Lamborghini Bravo (Bertone) (1974)

“Studio 114”, better know as the Bertone Bravo after a breed of Spanish fighting bulls. It was introduced at the 1974 Turin Motor Show.

In the first half of the 1970’s the energy crisis hit the car market, and as everyone ran for cover, the designers were forced to scale down their work too. However, in 1974, at the Turin Motor Show, Bertone presented the Lamborghini Bravo, a prototype with a central transversally-mounted engine, using the same mechanics as the Urraco (1971). At a difficult time like this, when the use of even the most economic car was curtailed by the energy restrictions, the Bravo came across as a provocation.

The car featured some very interesting design and functional elements, like its total visibility window surfaces, a classic in Bertone’s repertoire. The Lamborghini Bravo showed some novel features like the front and rear bonnets completely covered with fins designed to improve the cooling of the engine and radiator respectively. The interiors were in Alcantara material, an interesting new textile which had previously only been used on the Lancia Stratos HF. The name of the prototype is also significant: “Bravo” is the name given to particularly aggressive and courageous bulls in the bullfighting arena. And it was with the same spirit of daring that Bertone presented this provocative design to the public at an economically difficult time. As he himself declared in October 1974, when the vehicle went on show at the Turin Motor Show, “The Bravo represents my trust in the future, which will undoubtedly see the present difficulties overcome”.

Source: www.bertone.it